Joern Boehme has been the director of the Israel office since 2006. Prior to this, he worked for eleven years in the parliamentary group Alliance 90/The Greens in the German parliament where he served as Middle East advisor and coordinated the internal working committee on international policy and human rights. Ever since his first visit to the Middle East in 1979, German-Israeli relations, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the political and societal developments in the region are one of his major fields of interest.
He worked as a research assistant of the working group “Human Rights and Peace Promotion concerning the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” of the German Protestant Middle East Commission and as Director of the Israel department of Action Reconciliation Service for Peace. He studied Adult Education, Psychology, Sociology and Political Science at the Free University in Berlin. He has published articles and edited books on coping with German history, German-Israeli relations, the Middle East, Israeli peace groups and anti-semitism.

eMail: joern.boehme@boell.org.il
Phone: 00972-3-5167734

Elisheva Benstein – Deputy Director and Program Coordinator

Elisheva Benstein has been a program coordinator and the deputy director since December, 2007. Born and raised in the United States, she has lived in Israel for almost thirty years. She holds a masters degree in Intercultural Relations from Lesley University (USA) with a focus on Jewish-Arab relations in Israel. She has worked for many years in the field of Jewish-Arab dialogue and shared citizenship issues. Her professional background includes facilitation and curriculum development, strategic planning, resource and program development and resource development consulting. Her responsibilities involve the development and steering of program areas in addition to monitoring and evaluating projects and representing the foundation at selected events and conferences.

eMail: elisheva@boell.org.il
Phone: 00972-3-5167735

Romy Shapira – Program Coordinator and Website Editor

Romy Shapira has been the program coordinator for the Women’s Rights and Gender Democracy program component and other selected projects since March 2008. Prior to joining the HBS, she served as the first coordinator of the International Women’s Commission (IWC) for a Just and Sustainable Palestinian-Israeli Peace, where she  later became a board member. She has extensive experience in facilitating groups and lecturing about human rights issues, particularly regarding migrant workers and women trafficking to Israel. Among her volunteer activities, she is a board member of the Israeli-Palestinian grassroots organization Bat Shalom of the Jerusalem Link. Romy holds a Bachelors degree in Economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Masters degree in Sociology and Anthropology from Tel-Aviv University.

eMail: romy@boell.org.il
Phone: 00972-3-5167735

Ravit Aizenberg – Office Manager and Project Administration Assistant

Ravit Aizenberg has been the office manager and project administration assistant since March 2002. Her responsibilities include external and internal communications, travel arrangements and financial administration for bookkeeping. She studied Business and Tourism Management at Haifa University.

 eMail: ravit@boell.org.il
Phone: 00972-3-5167735

Maya Madar – Financial Coordinator

Maya Madar has been the financial coordinator of the Tel Aviv office since March 2009. Prior to joining the office, she worked as a certified public accountant in a German accounting firm and in an international accounting firm in Tel Aviv (Ernst & Young). In both offices she served as a client manager for public and private companies. Maya holds a Bachelors degree in Business Administration with a majur in accounting fro the College of Management in Rishon Le'zion and holds a C.P.A lisence from the Israeli C.P.A council.

eMail: maya@boell.org.il
Phone: 00972-3-5167735